Lamp support mounting



y 1967 J. L. LAWSON ETAL LAMP SUPPORT MOUNTING Original Filed March 5, 1963 PEG. 2

INVENTORS Ma 1; AM

Q L ama United States Patent 3,330,950 LAMP SUPPORT MOUNTING Justus L. Lawson and Lloyd 0. Lawson, both of 1709 Summit Ave., Union City, NJ. 07081 Continuation of application Ser. No. 262,869, Mar. 5, 1963. This application Aug. 25, 1965, Ser. No. 486,262 3 Claims. (Cl. 24052.1)

This application is a continuation of copending application Ser. No. 262,869, filed Mar. 5, 1963, and entitled Support Mounting.

This invention relates to support mounting, more particularly to a lightweight support mounting capable of being disposed in a large variety of positions and supported by a large variety of surfaces.

The best known mountings of the above type heretofore had spring loaded or screw-tightenable clamping attachments which made their installation comparatively time consuming and cumbersome; furthermore, their versatility is limited by the suitability of the available supporting surfaces.

It is an object of the invention to provide a mounting which can be readily carried around, if necessary, and will assume a stable position if simply placed upon any surface, even the edge of a drawer, or the like.

The features and advantages of the invention are to be described in the folowing detailed specification by using the example of an electric lamp, with reference being bad to the enclosed drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the lamp according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the lamp shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3a shows the lamp supported by the arm of a sofa, the latter being shown in phantom;

FIG. 3b shows the lamp in a tilted position; and

FIG. 4 shows the lamp of FIG. 1 supported by the narrow edge of a drawer.

The lamp shown in FIGS. 1-4, in the preferred embodiment, includes a mounting stem 1, bent at its upper end portion to accommodate the lighting assembly 2 adjustably attached thereto by means of a ball joint and sleeve mounting 4. Below its upper end portion, the stem 1 is substantially straight. In the embodiment shown, the lighting assembly includes a shade 6 supporting a socket 8 with a switch 10, and a light bulb 12 disposed Within the socket.

Mounted on the opposite, lower end of the mounting stem 1 is a counterweight '14 in the form of a rigid body, as shown in the drawings. Disposed on the mounting stem 1, intermediate the lighting assembly 2 and the counterweight 14, is a supporting plate 16 having a supporting cushion layer 18 attached to part of its bottom surface. The supporting plate is attached to the mounting stem by means of nuts 20, threaded onto a threaded part of the mounting stem 1. The mounting stem is composed of an upper tubular part 1a, and a lower tubular part 1b, joined together below the supporting plate 16 by a pipe coupling 22. The upper and lower tubular portions 1a and 1b are hollow in order to accommodate an electrical wire 24 therein, leading from a desired length of exposed insusulated wire in thorugh the bottom of the lower tubular portion 1b and up through the upper tubular portion 1a to the socket 8 of the lighting assembly 2.

The counterweight -14 can either be directly threaded onto a threaded portion of the lower tubular part lb, or supported thereon by a retaining nut 26. If a movement of the counterweight 14 on the lower tubular portion 1b is not desired, the counterweight may be maintained in a desired position either by having it threaded on the lower tubular portion or retained thereon by other conventional means (not shown).

The supporting cushion layer 18 serves to avoid a possible scratching or damaging of the surface used for supporting the lamp, and also to insure a good, slippagefree adherence between a supporting surface and the lamp supporting plate 16. The cushion layer 18 in its preferred embodiment is made of a resilient synthetic material, such rubber, foam rubber or soft nylon-or-polyurethane foam. In FIG. 3a, the lamp is shown supported by the arm of a sofa 28. In this position, the counter weight 14 abuts against the side of the sofa, depending on how much of the surface of the supporting plate 16 overlaps the supporting surface of the sofa 28. The angle in which the mounting stem 1 will be disposed can be altered by placing the lamp on the supporting surface so that a larger or a lesser area of the supporting plate 16 with the supporting cushion layer 18 overlaps the supporting surface.

FIGS. 3b and 4 illustrate the large variety of supporting surfaces able to support the lamp of the invention, FIG. 3b showing the lamp in an extreme, tilted position and FIG. 4 showing the lamp supported by the narrow edge of a pulled-out drawer 30. The supporting cushion layer 18 is preferably made of a soft material so that due to the weight of the counterweight 14, the cushion layer will be depressed and partially conform to the surface configuration of the edge of the drawer 30 whereby it is assured that a greater surface contact is established between the edge of the drawer and the cushion layer. Were the edge of the supporting surface in the shape of a sharp wedge, or the like, this would dig into the cushion layer and also maintain the lamp in poistion.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lower tubular member 1b may be provided with a spacer member, formed in the shape of a disc 32 having an off-center opening. A sleeve 34 is welded to the disc 32 coaxially with the off-center opening. The lower tubular member 1b ranges through the opening and the sleeve, the latter being afiixed to the tubular member by means of a set screw 36. By loosening the set screw and rotating the disc 32 about the tubular member 1b, a variable spacing support can be provided between the latter and any surface adjacent thereto for varying the angle of disposition of the lamp.

The upper tubular part 1a may be adapted to telescope into the lower tubular part 111, permitting additional adjustments in the positioning of the lamp. Similarly, the upper tubular part may be composed partly or in its entirety of a flexible gooseneck member.

It is to be understood that the lamp according to the invention was described and illustrated by means of a specific, exemplary embodiment thereof.

For instance, instead of using the mounting support of the invention in the embodiment of a lamp mounting, as shown and described, the invention may be utilized for the mounting of an ashtray or the like furnishing, as well as a portable mounting for a tool or the like utensil. Similarly, the lower tubular part 112 may be used to include means for conducting liquids or gases instead of electricity, as shown. Consequently, the full scope of the invention is to be interpreted from the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. A portable support structure comprising a flat sup porting plate, the undersurface of said supporting plate having a cushion layer of resilient material comprising a gripping surface, an elongated supporting element above said supporting plate, a lamp including a shade secured by a ball and socket joint to the supporting element, 'a light source mounted within said shade, a downwardly extending support connected to the supporting plate and extending in coaxial relation with said supporting element and including a counterweight means at the lower end thereof sufi-cient to bring the center of gravity of the combined structure and device below said plate to thereby produce a moment equal to and opposite to the moment produced by said lamp and said supporting element about said supporting plate, whereby the entire structure may be balanced in a generally upright position with such gripping surface pivotally supported on an anchor surface, and a disc spacer member eccentrically and rotatably mounted with respect to the downwardly extending support for adjusting angular position of said structure.

2. A portable assembly comprising a device which is to be supported and a weight, said device and weight forming a pair of mutually spaced units, elongated means extending between and connected to said units for maintaining them at least substantially at predetermined positions relative to each other, and support-engaging means fixed to and projecting laterally from said elongated means between said units for engaging an upwardly directed surface of any available support on which said support-engaging means rests exclusively by gravity with said elongated means extending in a generally upright direction and situating one of said units at an elevation higher than said support-engaging means and the other of said units, the entire assembly of units, elongated means, and supportengaging means having, when the latter rests by gravity on a support, a position of equilibrium in which the assembly stably remains, and an adjusting means adjustably connected to said elongated means between said support-engaging means and one of said units for engaging a limiting surface to determine the attitude of the assembly when said support-engaging means rests on a support.

3. An assembly as recited in claim 2 and wherein said adjusting means is in the form of a plate formed with an ofi-center opening through which said elongated means extends and said adjusting means being adjustably connected to said elongated means to be adjustably fixed thereto at a selected angular position to determine the direction in which said plate projects from said elongated means to engage a limiting surface.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,568,930 1/1926 Symmes et 211. 2,291,686 8/1942 Bray 248-364 X FOREIGN PATENTS 668,051 3/ 1952 Great Britain. 155,890 3/1954 Australia.

NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner.

C. C. LOGAN, C. R. RHODES, Assistant Examiners. 

1. A PORTABLE SUPPORT COMPRISING A FLAT SUPPORTING PLATE, THE UNDERSURFACE OF SAID SUPPORTING PLATE HAVING A CUSHION LAYER OF RESILIENT MATERIAL COMPRISING A GRIPPING SURFACE, AN ELONGATED SUPPORTING ELEMENT ABOVE SAID SUPPORTING PLATE, A LAMP INCLUDING A SHADE SECURED BY A BALL AND SOCKET JOINT TO THE SUPPORTING ELEMENT, A LIGHT SOURCE MOUNTED WITHIN SAID SHADE, A DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING SUPPORT CONNECTED TO THE SUPPORTING ELEEXTENDING IN COAXIAL RELATION WITH SAID SUPPORTING ELEMENT AND INCLUDING A COUNTERWEIGHT MEANS AT THE LOWER END THEREOF SUFFICIENT TO BRING THE CENTER OF GRAVITY OF THE COMBINED STRUCTURE AND DEVICE BELOW SAID PLATE TO THEREBY PRODUCE A MOMENT EQUAL TO AND OPPOSITE TO THE MOMENT PRODUCED BY SAID LAMP AND SAID SUPPORTING ELEMENT ABOUT SAID SUPPORTING PLATE, WHEREBY THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE MAY BE BALANCED IN A GENERALLY UPRIGHT POSITION WITH SUCH GRIPPING SURFACE PIVOTALLY SUPPORTED ON AN ANCHOR SURFACE, AND A DISC SPACER MEMBER ECCENTRICALLY AND ROTATABLY MOUNTED WITH RESPECT TO THE DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING SUPPORT FOR ADJUSTING ANGULAR POSITION OF SAID STRUCTURE. 